Flathead County looks at change for cannabis businesses
In this Friday, March 22, 2019, file photo, a marijuana plant is visible at Compassionate Care Foundation's medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple-effects across the country. The DEA’s proposal still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
Business owners who want to grow marijuana indoors in business zones in Flathead County would have to obtain a conditional use permit under a proposed new process.
The Flathead County Planning and Zoning Department expects to draft the process following a Planning Board workshop Wednesday. County zoning regulations prohibit cannabis business owners from growing product in business zones, which can force cultivation to occur in a separate facility.
Jim Roth, owner of First Class Grass Farm in Kalispell, said this creates a financial burden for business owners, who already operate in a heavily taxed industry.
“We’re generating revenue for the state of Montana, and we’re generating a lot of it,” said Angela Palmer, who works for UURB Inc., a Bigfork dispensary. “I feel like we should get the same respect and same protections from the county and from the state that any other legitimate business is afforded.”
County regulations allow the growth of marijuana in AG (agricultural), SAG (suburban agricultural), R-2.5 (rural residential) and R-1 (suburban residential) zones. Business zones only permit the sale of marijuana, which is considered an agricultural product.
Planning staff agreed to meet with stakeholders to draft a conditional use permit process that allows the cultivation, manufacturing and sale of cannabis in business zones where distilleries and breweries are permitted, as well as industrial zones. The change would go to the planning board for review.
BEFORE THE workshop, planning board members gave unanimous support to all five applications heard at the meeting. Since no public testimony was given, members swept through the agenda in under an hour.
Supported applications include a major land use permit at Moose Creek RV Park and Resort in West Glacier; an amendment to rezone property near Bigfork as commercial for a new fire station; a zone amendment on a combined 10 acres of land near Columbia Falls; a preliminary plat for a 40-acre subdivision near Marion; and new residential clustering provisions submitted by the planning department.
All five applications will go before county commissioners for approval.
Report for America reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at (406) 758-4439 or hshields@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.